The decision to implement water fluoridation in Japan depends on consensus among the residents of each municipality. To arrive at a consensus within the municipality, residents should have an ability to recognize, understand, and make decisions regarding the implementation of water fluoridation. Thus, improvement of health literacy concerning water fluoridation is important.
 We assessed the activities of water fluoridation promotion in the Tomioka-kanra area, using Nutbeam's concept of health literacy. As a result, to improve "functional health literacy", the provision of quality health information by dental professionals is necessary; to improve "interactive health literacy", experience of fluoridated water, a place to answer questions on water fluoridation of residents, and a program to improve skills of e-health literacy are necessary; and, to improve "critical health literacy", we should know the quality of individual critical health literacy and give residents the information they need to make an appropriate decision.
 To improve health literacy regarding water fluoridation, dental professionals should distribute appropriate information to residents, using health communication techniques. Dental professionals should help residents make appropriate decisions on the implementation of water fluoridation. All dental professionals should share the same view of promoting water fluoridation, and present the evidence to the public.
 Therefore, it is important that dental professionals improve their knowledge and understanding of water fluoridation.

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 It was recently reported that greater attention is being given to halitosis and oral care, and the effects of halitosis on daily life. Although there have been questionnaire-based investigations regarding the awareness of halitosis and psychological condition and behavior relating to halitosis, little is known regarding the association between the body image, which shows an aspect of psychological health, and halitosis. The aim of this study was to clarify the association between the body image scale and perception of halitosis among Women's University students. The subjects were 134 Women's University students. They were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire about their body image and awareness of halitosis. The body image scale was based on the silhouette chart, which included 8 body shapes, ranging from thin to obese. The subjects who preferred thin were significantly more conscious that their own halitosis might be unpleasant for other persons, and would seek a check-up by dentists.
 The present study suggested that the body image was associated with a potential tendency toward psychosocial and health-related behavior of the individuals who feel uneasy about halitosis.

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 This study reports on the caries prevalence and caries risk factors in children aged 3 to 5 years. Data were collected from 7 kindergartens and a nursery school in Fukuoka. Dental examinations were conducted in each school. Parents completed the FSPD 3&5 Questionnaire in order to assess children's behavior toward dental health and parent's dental caregiving behavior. Data were obtained from a total of 775 children (3-year-olds: 161 children, 4-year-olds: 288 children, 5-year-olds: 326 children). Statistical analysis was performed using multiple logistic regressions to test the association between deciduous caries experience and caries risk factors in each age. The caries prevalence rate was 34.8% for 3-year-olds, 45.8% for 4-year-olds and 65.0% for 5-year-olds. The dft-index was 1.4 (SD: 2.6, Max: 12), 2.4 (SD: 3.8, Max: 20), and 3.8 (SD: 4.1, Max: 19), respectively. The caries frequency increased from 3 to 5 years old (p<0.01). The occurrence of a large number of df-teeth increased from 3 to 5 years old. Multiple-variable logistic regression models of caries incidence included bottle/breast feeding after 18 months of age and two or more dental checkups among all ages. Significant risk indicators specific to the children aged 3 years were: living with a grandmother and/or grandfather, bottle consumption of sugary beverages, and gender of child (male). Risk indicators specific to the children aged 4 years were: consumption of two or more sweets a day and brushing less than 5 times a week assisted by parents. Risk indicators specific to the children aged 5 years were: reach of children for stored sweets and second or later birth order. Caries experience showed significant associations with sweet-intake habits in each age. This study documents that caries experience significantly increases from 3 to 5 years. The prevention of dental caries in deciduous teeth is still a serious problem in children over 3 years old. The results suggest the importance of dietary management from these ages.

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 This study was undertaken to explore the association between a retreat from normal social interactions and oral diseases in withdrawn people, and to examine the need to support them. For these purposes, a questionnaire survey was conducted involving a total of 133 people. The respondents included withdrawn people who participated in various programs, friendly supporters, and members of the general public.
 They had participated in some programs designed to support socially withdrawn persons and had used Ibasho (open rehabilitation home set up exclusively for people with behavioral or emotional problems by a support group).
 Socially withdrawn people tend to be oversensitive, and this may cause dental examinations to be more stressful. To investigate this, salivary amylase activity (SAA) levels, which can be used as a marker of sympathetic nervous system activity, were measured before and after oral examination, and after dental health guidance given to 19 subjects at the Ibasho home. The degree of psychological tension in subjects was assessed based on the results.
 Of the withdrawn people, 77% replied that prolonged withdrawal had had an adverse effect on their dental and oral health. About 80% of the withdrawn people said that support from the dental profession was necessary. Asked whether a dental health care program could be beneficial for withdrawn patients, 71% replied in the affirmative. More than 60% of the withdrawn and former withdrawn respondents expressed their willingness to receive either home care services or treatment in a private room of a dental office.
 The intraoral examination revealed that the DMFT for the subjects using the Ibasho home was 10.2 on average; the number of teeth requiring treatment averaged 2.5, and over 70% of the subjects had teeth yet to be treated.
 No significant differences were observed in SAA levels measured before and after intraoral examinations, and after dental health guidance. This suggested that there is little possibility for dental examinations to be stressful for withdrawn patients.

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 The aim of this study was to evaluate a project using the "Passport to Healthy Teeth" for the protection and nurture of the first permanent molar. The subjects were selected from 11 elementary schools of T City in Aichi Prefecture. One hundred and ninety-eight children utilized the passport and 406 children did not. The project was evaluated using the records from school dental examinations in the second and sixth grades. Second to sixth grade children who used the passport had a lower mean increase in the number of decayed and filled teeth than those who did not. After adjusting for the number of erupted teeth, number of DF teeth at the baseline, and gender, the relative risk of increasing DF teeth among children who used the passport was 0.54(95% confidence interval: 0.35-0.83)compared with children who did not use the passport. In other words, the "Passport to Healthy Teeth" lowered the risk of an increasing number of DF teeth. It was concluded that children who used the "Passport to Healthy Teeth" had a lower number of dental caries in their first molar as compared with children who did not use it.

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Abstract in Japanese

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